Late-season Erat shows 'sign of a heart beat'

Coyotes forward Martin Erat has one season remaining on his lengthy seven-year, $31.5 million contract and while he didn't exactly provide the offensive punch envisioned by Don Maloney after acquiring him from the Washington Capitals at the trade deadline, AZCentral.com notes the GM is optimistic about 2014-15.

"I thought the last four, five games Martin Erat started to show what we hope and expect next year," Maloney said. "I think he had four points the last five games. At least there's a sign of a heart beat there and some hope. But it certainly didn't ignite the offense that we certainly thought when we made that deal."

Source: Sarah McLellan, AZCentral.com